1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to training and aligning accessories for golf clubs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a training and aligning accessory for a golf club that includes an aligning mirror and a bracket for attaching the aligning mirror to the golf club.
2. Discussion
The game of golf typically requires a set of golf clubs, a bag for holding the clubs, golf balls, and a number of tees. One of the more difficult aspects of the game of golf is proper alignment of the club face of the golf club with the ball and target prior to the ball being struck by the golf club on the swing. This situation is true regardless of the type of club being used, but is particularly true with respect to the putter. The difficulty centers on the fact that the golf ball will generally go in the direction perpendicular to the face of the golf club. Accordingly, if the golf club face is slightly out of alignment with the desired direction of travel, the golf ball will go left or right of its mark. For example, the golfer standing on the putting green typically first assesses the condition of the green and the slope of the green between the golf ball and the cup. Once this assessment is made, the golfer prepares to drive the ball into the cup by use of the putter.
Two variables exist from this point forward. First, one is a question of power. If a golfer applies too much power, the ball, even though well directed, may pass the cup or may strike the edge of the cup and continue rolling. The second variable relates to the direction of travel of the hit golf ball. Again, because the golf ball travels perpendicularly with respect to the face of the club, if the face of the club itself is not aligned with the cup or target, the ball is likely to travel afield of the cup, that is, to the left or to the right of the cup, but not into the cup. Accordingly, it is desired to provide a tool that would be useful for training the golfer in proper alignment of the golf club face with respect to the cup or target.
In the past, several devices have been proposed that deal with the problem of providing an alignment tool for a golf club. It is not surprising that most of these tools have been directed to the golf club putter where the direction of travel is more critical than on the fairway, where the object is generally to achieve a controlled distance. These devices can generally be divided into two groups. One group includes golf clubs, particularly golf club heads, that have been modified to accept an alignment device which generally comprises a mirror. The other group, also relying upon a mirror as the alignment device, includes patents directed to accessories that may be attached to conventional golf club putters.
Exemplary patents of both types include: U.S. Pat. No. 1,327,171 issued on Jan. 6, 1920, to Ruggles; U.S. Pat. No. 1,556,062 issued on Oct. 6, 1925, to Baugh; U.S. Pat. No. 2,463,798 issued on Mar. 8, 1949, to Paisley; U.S. Pat. No. 3,043,596 issued on Jul. 10, 1962, to Ehmke; U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,891 issued on Sep. 20, 1966, to Grim, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,500 issued on Apr. 21, 1970, to Scott; U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,244 issued on Oct. 24, 1972, to Liotta; U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,633 issued on May 14, 1974, to Scott, III; U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,824 issued on Nov. 8, 1983, to King et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,749 issued on Mar. 23, 1993, to Ugarde.
While addressing many of the concerns regarding the provision of a tool for properly aligning the golf club face with respect to the cup on the putting green, the devices that permanently incorporate a sighting device fail to provide a satisfactory answer because of the need to provide a specifically designed and formed golf club head for this purpose. This approach is expensive, and limits the golfer's choice to the weight and feel of the club as dictated by the manufacturer. Because the aligning tool should be an accessory that may be removed from the golf club, it would be undesirable for the golfer to have a putter that includes this equipment permanently, elsewise the golfer will have to carry two putters in his golf bag, one an aligning putter and the other a conventional putter. This is not a practical solution to the problem. In addition, all of these patents provide for a golf club alignment device that is permanently formed as part of a golf club putter alone. This situation does not answer the need for such an alignment device that may be transferred to other golf clubs in the golfer's arsenal.
In an apparent effort to overcome the need to provide a permanently modified golf club putter, some devices have been provided which are accessories that may be attached to golf club putters and may be releasably removed thereafter. One such example of these devices is U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,633, issued to Scott III, on May 14, 1974, for "Golf Putter Sighting Device (hereinafter referred to as "Scott III"). This invention teaches an accessory that includes a spring-loaded mounting element for resilient attachment of the accessory to the golf club putting head.
While providing an accessory that is usable on a golf club and then may be removed so that the golfer can selectively use the putter without having to encumber the club with the accessory, the device of Scott III, provides a "wraparound" housing that restricts use of the putter accessory to those putters that have a flat back that is substantially perpendicular to the golf club face. Today's golf club putter technologies typically do not utilize only a putter with a flat back, and very frequently include rounded or otherwise curved backs for weight advantages during the putting game. Furthermore, the device of Scott III, also fails to provide a practical method for attaching such an accessory to a golf club other than the putter, as neither the backs of the conventional iron nor the conventional wood are flat and parallel with the golf club face. In addition, the device of Scott III, includes a bottom portion 18 which interferes with the use of the club by positioning the golf club head off of the green. This alters the player's sense for the position of the club.
Accordingly, known modified golf club heads and known accessories for attachment to golf clubs have failed to provide a solution to the problem of the need for an aligning and training device for use in association with a golf club.